harrypotterfandomcom-20200223-history
Talk:Wedding of Tom Riddle Senior and Merope Gaunt
Evidence? I am not sure there is any evidence there was a "wedding." Notice that Dumbledore says they "ran off." To me at least, this makes it pretty clear that at the most they married at a registry office. It is perhaps more likely that they simply lived together, and simply "pretended" to be married when they arrived wherever they eventually lived (most likely London.) Wva (talk) 17:53, June 16, 2016 (UTC) : - Dumbledore - "You see, within a few months of their runaway marriage, Tom Riddle reappeared at the manor house in Little Hangleton without his wife." --Ironyak1 (talk) 17:27, June 16, 2016 (UTC) ::Thats the key point. "Runaway marriage" essentially precludes a "wedding." The definition of a wedding is "a marriage ceremony, especially considered as including the associated celebrations." Also, a "common law marraige" can exist even though the couple never takes any formal action to register their relationship. I do not doubt thery were married - either formally or through the "common law." However, the repeated emphasis on "run away" strongly indicates there was no "wedding." You do not have to have a "wedding" to have a "marriage." Wva (talk) 17:53, June 16, 2016 (UTC) :::Sorry, was reading through the chapter for more details. It's difficult to figure out what exactly happened - where they were married and how exactly. Not sure if there is a better word or phrase for the article title (marriage ceremony, union, etc) or if the "wedding" of two people covers the various methods of being wed. But I agree the article does need some adjustments to presume less about the circumstances of them getting married. I'm tied up with renaming Sr. & Jr. articles (like this one) if you want to have a go at it. --Ironyak1 (talk) 18:01, June 16, 2016 (UTC) ::::"Runaway marriage" indicates that Merope and Riddle eloped (or, rather, Merope forced Riddle to elope with her), presumably to Gretna Green, the UK's historical answer to Las Vegas. From the 18th century right up until the early 20th century, this Scottish village was the site of countless elopements, since it was close to the English border and Scottish law allowed couples to marry at a much younger age without parental permission (14 for boys, 12 for girls). Whereas in England and Wales, the age of majority was 21, and thus parents could veto a marriage up to that point. ::::We can deduce from info in HBP that Merope was around 16 or 17 when she married Riddle. So she probably wouldn't have been legally able to marry him in her native England. Her father was imprisoned in Azkaban at the time, and he would've never let her marry a Muggle, in any case. And she probably wanted to avoid raising suspicions by trying to marry him in Little Hangleton. Better to go somewhere where neither of them were known and no one would ask questions. ::::An elopment is still a wedding even though the ceremony itself is typically perfunctory. ★ Starstuff (Owl me!) 00:48, June 17, 2016 (UTC)